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KCC continues economic development discussion

Gary Phillips

Updated:
Sept. 21, 2015, 1 a.m.

Kershaw County Council will again consider the subject of improving the county’s infrastructure for economic development when it meets Tuesday. County Administrator Vic Carpenter has addressed the council at its last two regular meetings, outlining different scenarios and the costs associated with each.

Carpenter said Kershaw County has been passed over by industries looking for locations in favor of other counties with better developed industrial parks including utilities, roads and spec buildings already in place. He said having those improvements allows industries to envision how they would look at a location and would save the company time and money in opening a new facility.

Four of the possible plans would be financed through general obligation bonds totaling as much as $15 million, Carpenter said. The hope is the improved industrial parks would be attractive to industries which would end up paying taxes and/or fees to the county, offsetting the initial investments.

Councilman Jimmy Jones has offered two proposals which would be smaller in scale, but use money from the county’s reserve fund rather than bonds. Jones said his concern is if industrial park improvements fail to lure new businesses to the county, taxpayers would feel the burden of repaying the bonds.

Also Tuesday, a public hearing and third reading of an ordinance approving a “fee-in-lieu-of-taxes” agreement between the county and DuPont will be considered. Ordinances must pass three separate readings before going into effect.

First readings are also scheduled for three ordinances which would result in zoning map changes to three individual properties.

Under new business, council will discuss a mutual aid agreement between the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office and Spartanburg County, consider appointments to the Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments and appointments to the Kershaw County Planning and Zoning Commission.

Council meets at 5:30 p.m. in the council chamber in the Kershaw County Government Center, 515 Walnut St., Camden. The meeting is open to the public.